


head first into the deep end

by cryingoverfiction



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Domestic, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jason being a stepdad, Jayroy, M/M, jj can't tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 03:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20401087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryingoverfiction/pseuds/cryingoverfiction
Summary: "Roy hugged him and kissed him and thanked him profusely.What the fuck had he done?Jason paced on the rooftop of the apartment building. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Roy, because he did.Oh, he did"In which, Roy is getting evicted, and Jason spirals.





	head first into the deep end

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back baby!
> 
> I know this is technically a JayRoy fic, but it's focused around Jason and Lian. It's been a while since I've had the time to write anything, so please be nice!

It was uncharacteristically warm for a mid-November Gotham morning, not that Jason was ever really bothered by the cold, but he couldn’t help thinking – if thinking meant mildly panicking about the state of the environment and climate change. Snow definitely should have fallen by now, but Jason decided to put those thoughts away for another day, and focus on his boyfriend, Roy Harper. The redhead kept insisting that everything was fine – in a tone of voice that made it clear that things were very much _not fine_. Jason didn’t want to force him to talk about it, but he also wanted to be there for Roy, show that he cared. They had been together for nearly 3 years and he still wasn’t clear on that boundary.

“Roy, you need to start talking to me” he says to the man sitting across from him, drinking his coffee and reading the morning copy of the _Gotham Gazette. _

Roy slightly folds over the corner of the newspaper and peers at Jason, before returning to reading.

“You usually love our silent morning meet ups.”

“I do, but I don’t love when something is bothering you and you don’t talk to me about it. Against all odds, we’ve had a really good run these past three years, and if you start keeping secrets, it’s going to ruin us.”

Roy closes his newspaper completely and stares at Jason quizzically.

“You’re scared” he states.

Jason rolls his eyes.

“Please, it takes a lot more than a secret or two to scare me” he scoffs. Roy smiles.

“Except it doesn’t. You’re scared that what I’m telling you is bad news. You’re scared I’m leaving you” Roy teases, but Jason stays silent and avoids eye contact. He’s hit a nerve. He drops the smirk and moves his chair closer to Jason’s.

Roy grabs his hand and squeezes it.

“I’m not leaving you. I am getting evicted. The owner of the apartment is moving back from Bali and needs her place back. I’ve been trying to find a place, but people take one look at my background and turn me down. I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to you to panic, and I don’t want Lian to panic, because if I don’t have a place to live I will probably lose custody and –“

“Just move in with me.” The world stumbled out of Jason’s mouth before he even knew what he had said, and when he did realize, he knew he could never take them back.

Roy’s face was a mask of confusion and adoration.

“You’d do that for me?” he asked, so quietly that Jason almost hadn’t heard him.

“mmhmm” Jason strained.

Roy hugged him, and kissed him and thanked him profusely.

What the fuck had he done?

* * *

Jason paced on the rooftop of the apartment building. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Roy, because he did. Oh, he did – and it wasn’t because he didn’t love Lian. He’d die for that little girl if he had to. Roy’s daughter was innocent, and pure and the embodiment of everything his family spent their lives fighting for – and his case, _gave _his life for. To see such things in a child was refreshing to all of them. Maybe, everything they done, everything they had _lost _hadn’t been in vain. Maybe if Lian could live in this world and see a brighter side to it all, there was still hope.

This is why Jason was panicking. He couldn’t be responsible for a child – _this child. _It would be a perfect situation if Roy were moving in alone, but he and Lian were a package deal. After everything Roy went through to get custody of Lian, how could they not be?

Jason _knew _himself, he _knew _that sooner or later, something was going to happen. He would say something, or do something that would not only cause Roy to hate him, but for Lian to lose some of that precious innocence. He couldn’t have that on his conscience.

“You must be really out of sorts if we were able to sneak up on you this easily Todd” A bratty voice sneered from behind him. Jason rolled his eyes. He should have known when he’d invited Dick over, the hell spawn would tag along.

“What’s up Jay?” Dick asked.

Jason paused. Maybe he shouldn’t have called Dick. He and Roy were so close, and Dick was rather protective of Roy – but he wasn’t going to chicken out of it now.

“I asked Roy to move in with me”

Dick’s eyes widened and he broke out into a smile.

“That’s great! You two have been together so long, it’s about time – why don’t you look happy?”

“I didn’t mean to ask him. I don’t want him to move in”

Dick’s face fell, then it twisted from confusion to anger. The older man stormed over to Jason and yanked him close by the collar of his shirt.

“What the fuck Jay? I told you-“ He pauses, to calm down Jason guesses, but it doesn’t work.

“I. Told. You.” He starts again, fury and venom laced in his voice. “When you started dating that he wasn’t your play thing. Roy has been through too much to be fucked around by you!” Dick shouted.

Jason pulled himself out of Dick’s grip, with such force that he fell to the ground. He was grateful that Damian seemed to not care about their quarrel. He didn’t need one brother cussing him out and the other teasing him. Dick’s still going on a rant when Jason audibly groans.

“Yeah, you think I don’t fucking know that asshole?” he shouts. “You think I don’t go to sleep at night thinking about the hundreds of people who could treat him better than I could? You don’t think I know that Lian should grow up in an environment better than the one I can provide?” His voice cracks, betraying him, and Dick softens. He offers a hand, and Jason takes it, pulling himself up off the cold, hard concrete.

“This isn’t about not wanting to live with Roy. This is about not being confident in raising Lian” Dick deducted. Jason is silent, because his brother is right. He isn’t confident in his parenting skills – he doesn’t trust himself to be such a figure in Lian’s life.

“Jay,” Dick starts, his voice calm, and welcoming now. “Roy is a smart man, and if he didn’t trust you around Lian, you would not be in Lian’s life. You’re going to be alright, especially if you learn to lean on Roy. He needs to know what you’re thinking, more so if it involves Lian.” Dick moves and places a hand on Jason’s shoulder.

“Despite what you think, you’re not a bad person. You’re not capable of doing anything that will make her hate you.”

Dick turns, getting ready to return to his patrol. Damian follows suit.

“Jay” he calls, looking back over his shoulder.

“Maybe you should hide the guns though”

* * *

Roy and Lian had unpacked their last box, and were officially moved in. The past three weeks hadn’t been anywhere near as scary as Jason had imagined them to be, but Roy had always been there. Today was different. Today, Roy had started his new job – helping drug addicted teens with their legal battles. Jason was in charge of getting Lian to school, and his first day with her was not going as planned. He’d gone to wake her up much too late, and she’d complained about having a cold. Jason didn’t know how to deal with any kid, let alone a sick one, so he let her skip school. As he looks over at her, spoonful of mint chocolate chip ice cream halfway to her face, he knows he’s been played.

He texts Roy about the situation, and he seems pretty light hearted about it. He understands that there needs to be a bit more of an adjustment period for Jason. Just as Jason is about to text him a picture of his daughter tucking into her favourite ice cream, she sneezes, and he panics.

People sneeze when they’re sick, and she said she was sick. He’s let her eat ice cream, like and now Lian is sicker. Jason starting panicking, so he texted Dick, he had a daughter, and was basically a father to Damian. He’d know what to do.

No less than 15 minutes later Dick arrived with Mar’i and Damian in tow.

“You weren’t at school, so I had to make sure he didn’t accidentally kill you” Damian shrugs when he greets her and Lian smacks him.

“Be nice, Jason is doing a great job” She says quietly, to not to catch Jason’s attention.

Jason and Dick were standing in the kitchen, looking over to the kids.

“Firstly, kids sneeze. It’s not the end of the world, they’re not dying. Secondly, kids fake being sick to not go to school, _you _know that.”

And yeah, he does. He pulled the same stunts when he was in school. Maybe he’ll be tougher on her the next time she takes advantage. Maybe.

He watches as she interacts with Damian and Mar’i, she’s smiling, laughing, enjoying herself. He hasn’t fucked her up yet. Maybe he’ll be okay.

Maybe _they’ll _be okay.


End file.
